ISLAMABAD, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Flash floods caused by high water levels in rivers and breach of river embankments have affected over 4 million people directly by displacing them across Pakistan's eastern Punjab province, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said on Friday.
An official from the PDMA told Xinhua that high floods in the Ravi, Sutlej, and Chenab rivers have been wreaking havoc across Punjab, the country's most populous province, with a population of over 127 million.
The PDMA said that hundreds of villages were submerged during the last 24 hours, increasing the tally to over 4,000 villages and inundating crops covering hundreds of thousands of acres.
According to PDMA data, over 2 million people trapped in the floods were evacuated to safe locations in the province, fearing that the situation could worsen in the coming days.
"Over 800,000 animals were evacuated, while around 400 relief camps, 392 medical camps, and 336 veterinary camps were established across the province as part of rescue and relief activities," said the official.
India has also informed Pakistan that high flood levels at different barrages on the Sutlej River will bring additional surges into Pakistan, causing further flooding.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Friday that at least 884 people have died, 1,182 have been injured, 9,363 houses have been destroyed, and 6,180 cattle have perished since the start of torrential rains and floods on June 26 this year.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has postponed the upcoming by-elections in nine constituencies of Punjab amid the flooding crisis, severely disrupted communication systems, and widespread damage to infrastructure.■
